Taste of Kiwi

My special guest today is Ari Thatcher, a fellow author with Ellora’s Cave. In fact, we shared a release date last week. Today Ari is talking about one of my favorite character types–the reformed rake. Over to Ari…

My first love in romance novels is historicals, preferably Regency era. The plots are basically the same, he’s in his thirties, has had his share of lovers, and is ready to settle down. She’s younger and more innocent – well, in a Regency she is innocent, unless we’re talking erotic Regency romance. With as many of those stories as I have read, it’s no wonder I had to write Kyle’s Redemption.

Since it’s a contemporary romance, we know what Kyle’s redeeming himself from, right? But we’ll be nice and call it shallow relationships. A shallow relationship offers all the benefits of a relationship without the involvement of his heart. If the woman/partner on the other end of the deal isn’t expecting more, then he’s not a bad guy.

Face it, in many of us there is a turning point where we realize we’re ready to commit. In real life, experts say it’s often a matter of timing if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon the perfect guy when he’s made the mental shift. In romance, it’s more fun to think he sees the error in his ways once he meets the heroine.

In Kyle’s Redemption I took it a step further and made Kyle understand what a…well, prick, he’s been in the past. Since today we no longer have society’s pressure to marry and beget an heir, our modern-day heroes need a lightbulb moment when they realize the heroine is worth making the extra effort for, something that forces them to look inside and admit they need to grow as a lover.

Now, the ultimate fun is when you take that moment, have your hero bend over backwards to make an impression, and your heroine is unimpressed. A strong woman knows she’s worth working for. She expects it. And she won’t be swayed by pretty words and acts.

A strong heroine will settle for nothing less than her lover’s whole heart offered sincerely, and she’ll make him sweat until he realizes it. Hopefully I’ve accomplished that with Lily, and the reader is fully satisfied by the ending. I know Kyle and Lily were!

Kyle’s Redemption Available at Ellora’s Cave

Blurb

Six years ago, Lily Astor looked forward to establishing herself in the Los Angeles art world. In one painfully public moment, those dreams were shattered. Now she has the chance to try again, but the invitation to exhibit comes from a gallery owned by Kyle Ventura. The man who should have cleared her name.

After a night of eyebrow-singeing sex, Kyle realizes who Lily is, and his role in her downfall. Now, as his heart falls deeper for Lily, he needs to make amends. But Lily doesn’t want his help, just his body.

For the first time in his life, sex isn’t enough for Kyle. He wants to show Lily he’s not the man he was six years ago. But first, he has to prove it to himself.

Ari Thatcher

Do you enjoy reading stories with reformed rakes? Do you prefer historical or modern-day ones?

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Do you like to travel back in time?
Do you like paranormal romances?
Do you like feline shapeshifters?
Adventure? Treasure-hunting? Curses?

Then I have the book for you. Lynx to the Pharaoh is out at Ellora’s Cave today.

Here’s the blurb:

Sethmet Khalil comes from a line of shapeshifters who protect the pharaoh from tomb robbers. It’s a sacred duty handed down from father to son—a duty he’s determined to carry out successfully so his family retains the shapeshifter powers they cherish. Failure means death at the hands of a deadly curse.

Desperate to escape the strictures of mourning, Charlotte Webster travels to Egypt with her stepbrother. The freedom of Patria Oasis is heady after the stuffy rules of the London season. It’s full of temptation. Sethmet, their guide, is handsome and sparks forbidden desire in Charlotte. Risking censure, she embarks on a passionate affair, secret rendezvous full of lingering caresses and explosive pleasure.

Charlotte pleases both man and feline, but she’s with the men Sethmet suspects are hunting for the pharaoh’s treasure. If Charlotte is involved, he can’t protect her from the pharaoh’s curse and she’ll die with the others. Love, danger and betrayal battle beneath the blood-red desert moon as the lovers steal moments together and fate works its wiles.

Fancy a little adventure in Egypt? Look no further than Lynx to the Pharaoh!

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Lynx to the Pharaoh, my next release is coming out on 1 July. I thought I’d celebrate and invite you all to join me on a virtual trip to Egypt. Everyone who joins me on my journey (i.e. posts a comment on an Egypt post) between now and 29 June will go into a draw to win an ARC of Lynx to the Pharaoh.

So, pack your bags and get ready to choose your camel for your trek to Patria Oasis in Egypt.

Now given you’re traveling via camel, what are three things you absolutely must take with you to Patria Oasis?

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I mentioned earlier this week that I’m doing some research into Regency England. What started me on this path? I picked up a copy of The Amorous Antics of Old England by Nigel Cawthorne when I last visited the library. Reading it sparked a story idea.

I give you thirteen tidbits from The Amorous Antics of Old England.

1. Dating agencies are not a new thing. Matrimonial clubs were set up as early as 1700 where members aided each other to make a good match.

2. Bundling was practiced widely until the 19th century. During the colder months when a household retired early, a young lover would go to bed with his intended. The young couple were expected to keep on their clothes. Sometimes the girl was sewn into a bundling sack so that things wouldn’t progress too far. Of course this bundling procedure didn’t always go according to plan!

3. In old Scotland a couple could get engaged by going to a nearby stream at night, washing their hands in its waters and then joining hands across it. Poet Robert Burns was betrothed to Mary Campbell this way.

4. Originally an engagement ring was three rings held together by a small rivet. Together they were called a gimmal. At the engagement, one part was given to the man, one to the woman and the third to a close friend who witnessed the betrothal. They would wear the three parts until the wedding, where the gimmal was recombined to make the bride’s wedding ring.

5. During Anglo-Saxon times, if a man had many daughters he was deemed rich because there were many women in his household to do the cooking and cleaning, raise crops and tend livestock. When he lost a daughter to marriage, he needed compensation in the form of a mund or purchase price.

6. In the north of England, young men who attended a wedding vied to pluck the garter from the leg of the bride as soon as the ceremony was over. The bride wore special ribbon garters, which were easily detached. She also wore them low on her leg to discourage over familiar hands. As part of the deal the bride was meant to scream and run away. Sometimes the young men knocked the bride over in the melee.

7. In old England, women wore charms around their necks to preserve their virtue. This meant both charm and virtue could be dispensed with easily!

8. If an Englishman was cuckolded, he advertised the fact. A ship’s captain found his wife in a compromising situation with one of his sailors. He had her stripped naked and put astride a mast with her lover on the other side. They were them bedecked with streamers and carried around East London. A band and a crowd of onlookers followed.

9. Wife selling was another way to deal with an adulterous or unsatisfactory wife. They were sold through small ads in newspapers. Sometimes a husband was disposed of in the same manner, although this was rarer.

10. Prostitution was big in London. It wasn’t necessary to pick up a girl on the street. A book called Harris’ List of Convent Garden Ladies was published with around 80 women appearing in each edition. The listings included their name, physical attributes, specialties and charges. Around 8000 copies of the book were sold of each edition.

11. In the 18th Century there were brothels catering to women as well. The owners would often cater to women of a better class who wished to amuse themselves with young male clients.

12. In the late 18th century, it was widely believed that the cure for venereal disease was to have sex with someone unaffected. This led to the rape of a large number of underage girls.

13. When James I came to the throne, he introduced sumptuous new fashions. He also passed an act requiring young women to be seen in public with their breasts exposed to the nipple. This was seen as a sign of their virginity. In the court of Charles II, women who weren’t virgins exposed their necks, shoulders, arms and breasts. This was condemned.

So, who wants to time travel?

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